Wisdom disconnect: Sept. 7, 2009

Long shot:
The standard golf course now has 18 holes. In the past this wasn’t the case: all golf courses had a different number of holes. It wasn’t until St. Andrews Old Course laid out nine holes one way on a green and nine holes in the opposite direction that golf courses sported 18 holes (this also explains why the first nine holes have a different coloured flag than the second nine holes). This was adopted by other golf courses and eventually became the norm. Another theory as to why golf courses have 18 holes is that there are 18 shots in a bottle of whiskey.

Are roses red?:
Most people have three types of colour cone cells in their eyes. This gives us trichromatic vision.
There are, however rare, some people who have a fourth type of cone cell. This results in the ability to see a fourth primary colour. Thus, people with a fourth cone can see many more
colours then those of us with only three cones. This is known as tetrachromatic vision, which most birds have.

I’m sorry too:
Queen Marie Antoinette was executed at the height of the French Revolution. Just before she was
beheaded, she accidentally stepped on the executioner’s foot. Consequently, Antoinette’s final words were apologetic. “Monsieur, je vous demande pardon. Je ne l’ai pas fait exprè.” Translation: “Pardon me, sir. It was not on purpose.”

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot…”:
Theodor Seuss Geisel, the German author and cartoonist more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, was not a real doctor at all, but adopted this pseudonym because his father always wanted him to become a doctor. Geisel intended to use his real name, Theodor Geisel, for more serious literature and his pen name, Dr. Seuss, for children’s books. That’s not to say his children books were not serious; many of them had an anti-fascist undertone.

Sweet!:
There is a berry referred to as miracle fruit that alters the taste receptors in your mouth. This berry contains miraculin, which has the effect of turning acids into sweets. The result is
that after eating this berry, expectedly bitter foods taste sugary.